A Nudge Story
by Lyla Calm
Summary: 16-year-old Nudge finds herself pregnant with Iggy's child, so she leaves the Flock, afraid of rejection. What will happen when they find Nudge again, years later? And how does Iggy feel about her? Disregards MR6. FAX and NUGGY! Previously by ArmyStrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! This is my first Maximum Ride fanfiction. And—alas! It's not all mine. The first seven chapters of this fanfic were written by ArmyStrong, but I've been chosen to adopt the story—so I'm not a plagiarist, for those of you who could swear you've read this story before. I've made some minor grammatical changes and added a sentence here and there where reference was unclear, but other than that, the plot and everything will stay the same. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

"Crap," I muttered under my breath. It had been four years since Max had saved the world from Itex (So if you're bad at math, Max, Fang and Iggy were 19, I was 16, Gazzy was 13 and little Angel was 11).

I stared hard at the pregnancy test in my hand, willing the pink cross to change into a blue minus sign. But, big shocker, it didn't. Growling a string of colorful cuss words under my breath (most of them ones I had learned from Max), I shoved the pregnancy test into my jacket pocket and left the Wal-Mart bathroom. Stepping out into the July heat, I quickly found a deserted place and took off into the air, my tawny wings beating powerfully.

After a couple minutes I reached the house that we had been living in for the past two years. It was a white house in the mountains that couldn't be reached unless you flew there.

Max and Fang shared a room. Then the rest of us got individual rooms (except Angel, who got such a small room that it could be labeled as a large closet). She says she likes small places. Anyways, back to the story. Me and Iggy shared a room, so there was an extra bedroom.

Iggy. My heart beat faster just thinking about him and knowing that a part of him was in me. Growing in my stomach. Oh crap. Unable to stop myself, tears started streaming down my cheeks, blurring my vision and making me angrily wipe my eyes.

As soon as I reached the hallway, I ran to my room and slammed the door. I lay down on the queen-sized bed and cried, thankful that none of the flock were here. They had all gone to the shopping center and I had pretended to be sick, so they left without me after I insisted that I would be fine. It did take a while to convince Iggy to leave, but between me and Gazzy, he just couldn't refuse. Almost as soon as they left I took off as well, but towards the opposite direction to buy a pregnancy test.

The main question going through my head was, _Would Iggy accept the baby? _I didn't know if he would. I lay there thinking it through, not even sure how much time was passing. When I finally sat up, the clock told me I'd been there for about twenty minutes. And I'd made my decision. Slipping off the bed, I retrieved a duffel bag from under the bed and packed absentmindedly, thinking about Iggy and what he would say if he knew my secret. If he didn't accept the baby, then I didn't want to be here when he rejected both of us and ripped me apart. I couldn't risk that.

Lastly, I packed two picture frames. One was a picture of the six of us taken by Dr. Martinez a few years ago. Max was grinning from ear to ear, with Fang's arm around her waist. Fang also wore a small smile, but that was enough to light up his entire face with happiness. The Gasman held up two fingers in a peace sign; Angel stood next to him, holding Max's hand with an angelic smile. I was in Iggy's arms as he embraced me, both of us standing next to Fang.

The other picture frame held a picture of only Iggy and me, both of us flying with our hands held together and stupid grins on our faces. I sighed and zipped up my duffel bag, dragging it into the hall and down the stairs. Stopping at the kitchen, I took a piece of paper from the pile of objects on the table and wrote two notes.

The first one was for the flock and the other was for Iggy. You're probably thinking, how does the blind guy read? Well, I make really deep grooves when I write so he can just feel the words. I finished and read them over, satisfied with my work.

_Dear Max, Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel__,_

_If you're reading this, you probably know that I've left. Don't try to find me and don't come after me-I'm leaving because I have to. I love you guys, I swear it. I need to leave but it breaks my heart to. I won't forget any of you, but I'll probably never see you again. Max__,__ you were always my mom and sister and you're a great leader. Fang, try to smile a bit more, people might start to think you're emo. Iggy__,__ I love you, don't ever forget that and try not to blow up anything too important. And really Gazzy, quit eating those beans. You know what they make you do! And Angel__,__ you're the best little sister ever and I hope you don't get into too much trouble with your mind!_

_ I'll miss you all,_

_ Nudge_

By the time I had finished reading this note I was in tears. I quickly taped it to the kitchen counter, knowing they would find it immediately. Now for Iggy's note.

_Dear Iggy,_

_ You've probably already found the note downstairs for you and the flock. I love you so much, Iggy__,__ and why I'm leaving is personal. It's got no reflection on you, so please don't be mad at me. Don't cry for me__,__ either. I want you to be happy__,__ Iggy, just try to be happy without me. Move on with your life and smile._

_ I love you,_

_ Nudge_

Folding this note up as well, I rushed upstairs and placed it on my pillow. As I shouldered my duffel bag and swept my eyes over our home, I was screaming inside. I jumped out a window and snapped out my wings, the wind yanking me upwards. And as I flew away from my home, I didn't look back, knowing that if I did, I wouldn't be able to keep myself from going back.


	2. Chapter 2

6 Years Later

"Mommy!" shouted one of my five-year-old daughters as she flung herself at me, an identical girl right behind her.

"Hey Juliet!" I said as I hugged her close. I shifted Juliet to one side and held out my other arm for my other daughter. "Come on, Alison, won't you give me a hug," I coaxed, and she, too, threw herself into my arms.

It had been six years since I left the flock, and I had two beautiful twin daughters that I loved to death. My full name was Monique Krystal Black, and I was 22 years old. My daughter, Juliet Elena and Alison Isabel, were born on January 17 and were five years old.

I had changed a lot in the past six years. I was really tall and I had grown out my hair so it now reached my waist, but it was still super curly. Juliet and Alison had my complexion with Iggy's hair and eyes. Their skin color was an olive and they had light brown hair with blonde streaks that curled up as much as mine did. Their eyes were a beautiful shade of lake blue and they had inherited Iggy's sense of mischief and, in Juliet's case, a love of bombs and blowing things up.

"Come on girls, time to go back home," I said, taking each of their hands in one of mine. Walking to a deserted clearing, I tossed Alison into the air. She snapped out her wings and rose fifteen feet. Her wings were the same tawny color as mine but she had them speckled with black and white feathers on her underside.

I gathered Juliet in my arms and threw her into the sky as well, and she snapped out her wings. Her wings are a much darker brown color with only white feathers lining the bottom and sides. I shook out my tawny wings and jumped into the air, and together we all flew towards the apartment building we had been living in for the past four years.

But halfway there, we saw specks in the horizon. Alison was the first one to see them.

"Mommy, what's that?" she asked, pointing at the horizon. I squinted and looked. Dark shapes were looming there, flying. One was my size, small and slight. But the other ones were huge and grotesque-looking. But what were they? Erasers? Flyboys? I looked below us and saw that the road was deserted.

"Dive," I said, and we all shot towards the ground. We landed ungracefully, due to the fast movement, and started walking towards the house.

We passed under the shapes, and I glanced up and gasped. Because of my raptor vision, I could see more clearly than most humans—and when I looked up, I saw…Omega. I sped up and my daughters did too, trotting next to my hurried pace.

We reached a small strip of town (Just so you know I'm not telling you where I live. Safety reasons, you know) and I quickly pushed them into a Dollar Tree store. We hid behind some aisles and started to walk towards the back of the store when I bumped against someone else.

I slipped and almost fell but a pale hand seized my arm and pulled me to my feet. I dusted myself off and my daughters hugged me tightly.

"Thank you…" I trailed off as I looked at the person in front of me. He had strawberry blond hair that was spiked up and all over the place; he looked to be about 25 years old. His lake blue eyes gazed into mine and his pale white skin glowed. The first thing that screamed into my mind was, _It's Iggy!_ _Run!_ But I saw that this man could see, so I relaxed.

"Anyways, thanks. That was a pretty quick catch," I said.

"Come on Iggy!" I heard someone shout, and the man turned to see who had spoken. A dark-haired woman with blond highlights approached him—_Max._ In her arms was a boy about five years old, and a man with dark hair and clothes followed silently behind her.

"Max, take Fang and Jake to the front register," the Iggy-clone told the woman, and then turned towards me again. Max's mouth fell open, as if she couldn't believe he'd actually given her an order. Iggy's mouth formed words, but I couldn't hear them. Max. Iggy. Fang. My mind was thrown into hyper drive and I couldn't find the "stop" pedal. Max's eyes narrowed suddenly as she looked at me, confusion clouding her face. Crap.

I turned on my heel and ran out of the store, my daughters' hands in mine. I made it twenty yards into a forest before I heard running footsteps behind me and was roughly whirled around. Max stood in front of me, with the rest of the flock standing directly behind her, all of them stiff as boards.

"Nudge?" she yelled at me incredulously. Juliet glanced at me and pulled on my hand.

"What did that lady call you, Mommy?" she asked me, her big blue eyes full of curiosity. Max's eyes bugged out of her head, as well as everyone else's eyes. She looked between me and Juliet and Alison, then back at me. She opened her mouth to say something, but somebody else beat her to it.

"Why did that little girl call you 'Mommy', Nudge?" Iggy asked me, his tone hurt and sad.

"Because she's my daughter," I mumbled quietly. They all gave each other shocked glances, and I took my chance. I tossed my daughters into the air and they snapped out their wings, a strong wind taking them upwards.

I snapped out my own wings and took off. The flock scrambled below us, trying to get into the air all at once.

"We're flying home," I shouted to my daughters, and they nodded, almost scared expressions on their faces. We all coasted swiftly towards the left and flapped our wings harder. I glanced behind me to see the flock gaining on us and turned my head determinedly forward again. We landed on the rooftop of the apartment, and I heard landing thumps.

I turned around, expecting to see the flock, but instead I let out a gasp as I saw Omega and a bunch of weird creatures who had just landed behind me. He smiled crookedly at me and eyed my daughters.

"I'm just here to pack you all in. The new director wants you three," he informed me. I pulled Juliet and Alison closer, and he laughed.

"Come quietly, and you'll be rewarded," he said. I threw him a hateful look.

"Over my dead body," I hissed, and his smile disappeared.

"Then you must endure the pain," he said, his smile widening again. I pulled my leg back into a fighting position, pushing Juliet and Alison behind me protectively.

He got into his own fighting stance and shouted, "Attack!" And we both charged at each other.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** **IMPORTANT—This is the third chapter, but, as true of the previous two chapters and the next four or five chapters, the user ArmyStrong (account deleted) is the author. So, I can't really take credit for it—all I can say is, I am really excited to be able to continue it. And I'll leave a note at the top of the first chapter I officially "write", so ya'll know when it comes. Thanks for the great reviews!**

** One other note—some of you have asked why I'm not updating every day, since the first seven chapters have already been written. The reason is, I wanted to finish reading the series first, since this fic takes place after book 5. And I've finally finished! It'll take me some time to edit each chapter for grammatical correctness, but I'll have the next chapters up ASAP! And I was in New Mexico for two weeks, that's why I haven't updated in a month. So thanks again for the great reviews, and here's Chapter 3!**

I launched myself towards Omega. Leaping into the air and snapping out my wings, I swung the hardest roundhouse kick I could manage at his head. My foot connected with his head and there was a terrible crack as his head snapped sideways. Acting quickly, I delivered a punch to his nose, which started to gush blood.

Omega kicked me in the stomach and my breath left my body. As I struggled to get more air into my burning lungs I thought, _What the hell had Max done to defeat him?_ I managed to knee him in the stomach, then punch one of his eyes, but he quickly recovered. I looked into his cold gray eyes and realized that he wanted to hurt me more than he'd ever wanted to hurt anyone before, but then his foot hit my head and lights popped behind my eyelids.

His foot swung under my legs and I went down. He pressed his booted foot on my chest, making me unable to get up.

"Get the twins," Omega ordered the grotesque creatures, and they quickly grabbed Juliet and Alison as panic and adrenaline pumped in my ears. They struggled at first, but after they saw that the monsters only tightened their hold on them, they soon gave up.

Omega smirked at me and crouched next to me, his boot still firmly planted.

"Ready to go back to Itex?" he asked, his hot breath on my skin.

"Itex is destroyed," I spat at him, trying and failing to give him the death glares Max used to. Guess I should stick to Bambi eyes…

"Didn't you hear? Itex has finally regrouped," Omega said as horror and dread filled me at his words. Itex had regrouped? It had taken them 11 years.

I heard more landing thuds and was prepared to see more misshapen creatures to take me and my daughters to the one place I thought was destroyed forever.

"Get away from her!" There was a flash of pale skin and strawberry blonde hair, and Iggy was on top of Omega 10 feet away, delivering a series of punches almost too fast for the eyes to see.

"Iggy!" I yelled as he received a blow from Omega. His beautiful blue eyes found mine for a fraction of a second before he went back to fighting Omega, his face set into a death glare.

"Nudge!" screamed a voice, and I was tackled in a hug from a 16-year-old girl with pale blonde hair and an angelic face.

"Angel!" I cried, hugging the little girl that I had considered my little sister for years. A handsome 18-year-old boy who looked almost exactly like Angel came over and joined the hug.

"Hey Gazzy," I said, embracing him.

"Yo Nudge," he said quietly. Angel and Gazzy then ran over to some of the creatures and started to fight them. I looked around at what used to be my family. Max was taking four of them at the same time, and even then the monsters looked to be at a disadvantage with her. She leaped, twirled and delivered blows, her movements rapid and precise.

Fang was a few feet from her, also taking four at the same time. His face was cold and determined as he punched, ducked and kicked the monsters. Gazzy was fighting three of them, his face set and firm. I saw Angel just staring at some of the monsters and they would suddenly break down, screaming in agony. She was also taking care of the little boy who I had seen in Max's arms at the store. He couldn't be any older than Juliet and Alison, his hair was brown with blonde streaks that reminded me of Max's hair and his eyes were dark, an almost black, color. They strangely reminded me of Fang's eyes… Hello. I almost squealed.

I knew Fang and Max would get together! Which means Gazzy owes me 20 bucks…I looked back at the boy and realized that Juliet and Alison were also there, huddled with him. I looked over to Iggy, who was now locked in an intense fight with Omega. He delivered a roundhouse kick which was returned with a strong punch to his gut. I saw Iggy gasp for air, then stabilize himself, his face clouded with fury.

I scrambled to join the fight and started with the first creature I saw. They were good, better than the Erasers and the Flyboys and it took me awhile to find out their weak spots and defenseless areas.

I looked back at where Angel was but only saw Alison there. Where were Juliet and the little boy? Just then I heard a scream. My head snapped upwards and my breath caught.

"Juliet!" I screamed and took off into the air, aiming for the monster that had my daughter and the little boy in his foul arms. I looked back and saw Max and Fang both struggling but not able to get away from the creatures and four monsters become seven for each. I caught both their eyes and an understanding came between us. They seemed to relax a bit as they continued to fight and I flew with all my might.

When I reached the monster holding our children, I clapped my hands over his ears. He screamed in pain as his eardrums popped and he dropped like a ton of bricks.

"Juliet!" I cried, and caught her and the little boy before they fell.

"Mommy, what was that?" asked Juliet, her face pale with fear and her eyes wide. I almost cried. I didn't want my daughters to see this kind of thing, to always be on the run and to never have enough to eat. Not like what I'd had to go through.

"Who are you?" the little boy asked.

"I'm a friend," I told him, looking into his eyes.

"My name is Ricky," he told me. Then he added, "What's your name?"

I hesitated. What was my name? Then I looked at him. "Nudge," I told him. "My name is Nudge."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to all the great reviews I've gotten so far! And I've gotten some complaints about how 1) Nudge isn't very talkative, and 2) The chapters are quite short. That'll change in future chapters, but right now there won't be any changes because (see Author's Note, Chapter 1) these chapters weren't written by me. I'm just proofreading them and changing some of the wording, but the dialogue itself isn't being changed. Chapter 8 will be the first chapter I officially write. And the credit for this great chapter (chapter 4) goes to ArmyStrong (account deleted). Thanks again everyone, and don't forget to review and let me know if you have any suggestions!**

I landed lightly on the roof of my apartment, tucking in my wings. I set down Ricky and Juliet and watched as the little boy ran towards Max and Fang while Alison came over to me and hugged my leg. All of the creatures were gone and now all that was left was Omega. Who, by the way, looked like he had been run over by a truck.

Wiping a stream of blood from his chin, Omega glared at all of us. "See you soon, little pigs," he said, making my skin crawl as he looked at me. Then he turned around and opened his own leathery bat-like wings, flying much faster than should have been possible. I sighed and tucked a lock of my brown hair behind my ear.

"Umm, Nudge?" I heard a voice speak up and I turned to see Max watching me.

"Why don't you guys come into my apartment?" I said carefully.

"We don't want to disturb your husband," Iggy replied tightly, refusing to look at me.

"I don't have a husband," I told him, and he looked up at me, confusion written all over his face. I led the way through the door on the roof and down to the floor under the apartment; I lived on the top floor of the six-floor apartment complex. Unlocking the door, I let them in, leading them towards the living room. Suddenly Angel gasped.

"Nudge! Your face!" she cried in shock and all the Flock looked up at me, completely speechless. I knew that my face was healing right before their eyes. All the cuts and bruises, black eyes and everything else vanished. It was actually really funny to see their faces.

"It's a new power I got," I said simply and walked over to Max. She had parallel scratches on her cheek that were still bleeding. I put my hand on the opposite cheek and the Flock watched in wonder as her scratches stitched up and closed, forming a pink line until even that disappeared. Max touched her cheek in shock then grinned at me. Next I walked to Fang. His nose was dripping blood and a black eye now decorated his face. After I had also healed that, I inspected the rest of the Flock.

Gazzy and Angel were actually in good shape, except for their clothes, which were a bit torn up. Iggy wasn't as lucky. Blood was dripping out of his mouth, and even as I watched, he leaned over an open window, spitting some out. He had a black eye and there was a gash on his forehead. Then I saw something that made my own blood run cold. He had his hand pressed against his side and nobody had noticed how pale his features had become. I went over to him and unpeeled his fingers from his side only to draw in a gasp. There, in between Iggy's ribs, was the hilt of a knife. I recognized it as Omega's.

I stared at Iggy with shock and worry in my eyes, and once he saw that I had found out, he couldn't keep the pain any longer from his features. Blood was splattered all over his shirt and jacket. I lifted his shirt and jacket slightly, so I could see his wound. It was bad and things only got worse as I noticed just how rusty the knife was. Shit! If I didn't get it out, it would get infected. And that pretty much would sign Iggy's death contract.

"Okay, Iggy," I said slowly as I looked into his eyes. "I'm going to pull the knife out." He nodded, understanding. I drew in a breath and then took the hilt of the knife and, as quickly and painlessly as I could, took it out. I heard his gasp of pain and his eyes shut tight. It killed me to see him in pain, but I knew I had to do it. I placed my hand lightly over the wound and my hand glowed golden. Then it was over and I felt my energy slip. It took a lot out of me to heal anything, but a wound that deep…I doubled over as Iggy's body relaxed.

"Mommy!" a voice suddenly shrieked and I saw Alison sitting on Angel's lap while Juliet was on Max's. "Is her name really Angel?" Alison asked, and I felt myself smile at her wonder.

"Yep," I confirmed, and her eyes sparkled. "Alison, Juliet, these are Max, Fang, Gazzy, Angel, and Iggy," I said, pointing to each Flock member in turn.

"Guys, these are my daughters, Juliet and Alison," I added quietly, and an awkward silence followed. I saw Max staring intently at the girls, almost as if she were trying to figure out who their father was. But I was lacking too much energy to worry about it.

"I'll get us some drinks," I offered, and practically stumbled into the kitchen. As I poured three cups of orange juice and six cups of Coke, I found myself realizing just how ironic it was that I was serving drinks to the Flock, of all groups of people. I went back with the tray and handed the orange juice over to Juliet, Ricky and Alison.

"So," I said, sipping my Coke. "What were those things?" I hadn't seen or heard of Itex regrouping, so it still shocked me.

"They were Archers," Gazzy told me. "They've been attacking us for almost four months now. It's been only a couple of months since we found out Itex is back." I looked at Iggy's face and saw it was still covered in bruises, cuts and blood, but he looked more comfortable.

Max spoke up. "You know what?" She glanced up from her cup.

"What?" I asked warily.

"Juliet and Alison look an awful freaking lot like—"

"I should heal your face, Iggy," I said loudly, cutting her off. I pressed my hand against his cheek, unable to prevent the tingles emitting from my fingertips. My hand glowed gold again and his face healed. But I didn't count on losing the rest of my energy. I dropped to my knees, feeling the rest of me falling toward the floor. The last thing I remember before blacking out was someone catching me as I fell, and I knew, somehow I knew, that it was Iggy. Then the Flock shouted my name, but all I saw was black.

**Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Ricochet Calculus Ride!"

I groaned. My head hurt like heck. No, it was more like hell. I forced my eyes open and blinked blearily against the bright sun. Or at least I think it was sun. I looked around the room and my sky blue wall paper greeted me. Shifting to my side, I saw to my shock that Iggy was asleep in the chair next to my bed. I smiled as he mumbled something incoherent.

I reached over to push back a lock of hair that was hanging in front of his face and his arm shot out, grasping my hand. He opened his eyes.

"Nudge?" I smiled warmly at him. He rubbed his eyes groggily and yawned, but sat bolt upright when his brain finally registered that I was okay.

"You scared us yesterday," he said. Yesterday? My eyes widened. I jerked up and immediately felt dizzy, felt myself falling off the bed. Iggy caught me in time and hugged me close to him. I could feel my heart beating in my throat as I looked into his amazingly blue eyes.

"Do you always get dizzy when you heal someone?" he asked, his mouth next to my ear. I was about to respond when the door burst open and Max and Fang ran in with the rest of the Flock. They froze in their tracks and Iggy quickly let go of me, but not before making sure that I was in no danger of falling again.

"Uh, hey," I said meekly, sitting back into the pillows.

"Mommy!" screamed two ecstatic voices and Juliet and Alison ran towards me, jumping on my bed, with Angel close behind.

"Aren't you a bit old for jumping on beds?" I asked Angel, one of my eyebrows raised. She shrugged and smiled her angelic smile. I saw Ricky peek out from behind Max and beckoned him closer. Alison then spotted him.

"Come on Ricky!" she shouted, then grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the bed. All three (well, four if you count Angel) of them jumping on the bed. We were all laughing when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"I'll get it," I said, stumbling slightly as I got out of bed. Gazzy followed me to the door. I opened the door and had to suppress a groan. There stood the most annoying man on earth, who wouldn't stop asking me out and really needed a life. Or more commonly known as Eric Dwalson.

"Hey Monique," he greeted smoothly.

"Hello Eric," I said politely, but not inviting him further. Gazzy was staring at Eric in bewilderment, before he left to see what Max wanted.

"So I was wondering…" Eric started but I cut him off.

"No Eric, I've already got plans for dinner tonight. And tomorrow night, and the night after that, and the night after that. And anyways, me and the girls are moving," I made up fast. It technically wasn't a lie, seeing as I planned to leave with the Flock. Eric opened his mouth to say something, but at the moment another Flock member came over.

"Hey Nudge, come on!" called Iggy before he skidded to a halt as he saw Eric.

"Nudge?" Eric asked in confusion after glaring evilly at Iggy.

"Err—yeah. Me and Jeff go a long way back. Nudge was my childhood nickname," I invented, and Iggy came over to stand next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I ignored the tingling shocks that were going through my body and focused my attention on Eric.

"Girl scout cookies, right?" asked Iggy, smiling at Eric though it looked more like a glare. Eric ignored him.

"Could you tell me your address? Maybe I'll visit," said Eric. Yeah right, more like move into the house next door.

"Look Eric," I said firmly. "I don't want to go out with you. I'm sorry." Iggy squeezed my shoulder as I said it and Eric looked like he'd been slapped.

"I see," he said quietly, glaring venomously at Iggy. "You prefer him."

"What? Me and Igg— I mean, Jeff, we're not going out," I told him.

"Right," Eric drawled. "Just keep being the little slut that you are." I saw Iggy's eyes light up with electricity, felt his whole body tense up in anger, and I had to keep a hand on him to stop him from lunging at Eric.

"Something wrong?" said Fang, his eyes turning cold and hard as he glared icily at Eric. Eric looked extremely uncomfortable with Fang glaring at him like that, but he regained his composure.

"You see? You've got guys all over the place to screw," sneered Eric.

"She's my little sister." Fang's voice cut through Eric's like a knife. Then Max came over.

"What's going on?" she said in her leadership voice. Eric gawked at her. I stifled a laugh at his reaction of the blond beauty.

"I think it's time you leave," said Max firmly before she closed the door on his still stunned face.

"Why didn't we do that before?" I muttered to myself and saw Iggy flash me a grin, which made my legs go weak.

"Are you really moving?" asked Angel slyly, already knowing of my plan.

"Yep," I said casually, watching the shock on the Flock's faces. I grinned.

"I'm staying with you guys."


	6. Chapter 6

I dressed Alison and Juliet for travelling the next day. Alison had on a pair of jean overalls with a plain white shirt underneath it, and sneakers. Meanwhile, Juliet was dressed in long jeans with a red shirt and matching red sneakers. I sighed, knowing they would be dirty in a week, tops.

"Go to the bathroom now, quickly," I told them, and they ran off. I straightened out to see Fang looking at me, leaning in the doorway. I avoided his eyes, knowing that if I didn't he would be able to get me to say anything. Fang was like my older brother and we were really close.

He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Nudge," he said, looking at me.

"What?" I asked loudly, turning away. But in two seconds flat he was next to me.

"You need to tell Iggy that Alison and Juliet are his," he whispered, and I stared at him in shock. Was it really that obvious? He watched at my shocked face.

"Everybody in the flock except Iggy and the Gasman know that they're Iggy's," he said. Damn, they're good.

"How?" I choked out, sitting down.

"They look just like him," he said, sitting down next to me. "And we have Angel to confirm," he added with a grin. I smiled weakly.

"Give me just a little bit more time," I said, sitting down on the bed. Fang followed and sat down next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"I just don't know what to do," I whispered, staring at my lap. Fang stroked my hair and whispered comforting words in my ear. Then Juliet and Alison walked in and we both stood up.

"Ready to go?" I asked them and they both nodded eagerly. "Okay, let's do this." The whole Flock went up to the roof.

"Ready?" Max asked loudly, and we all snapped out our wings and jumped off the building, the wind catching in our feathers and making us soar into the sky.

"Where are we headed to, Max?" I shouted to her over the rush of the wind.

"We're going to Arizona!" she shouted back. "We've got to see my mom and Jeb." I nodded to her, and then looked behind me. Juliet and Alison were both doing nicely and were chatting with Angel, laughing at something she had said.

A few hours passed and nothing eventful happened, although the sky was getting darker, and it wasn't because it was late. It appeared we were flying straight into a storm. After a quick lunch (made by Iggy, of course), we flew off again.

"Hey," said a voice, and I looked to my left to see Iggy next to me, his wings just barely brushing mine.

"Yo," I said after I quickly glanced at him. I heard him sigh.

"Look Nudge, I think we need to talk," he told me. I looked straight ahead.

"I really don't think we do," I responded. But then he flew straight in front of me, forcing me to brake to avoid a collision.

"What was that?" I asked angrily.

"We. Need. To. Talk," said Iggy, equally angry. The whole Flock had seen the exchange, but they were all faking nonchalance. I saw Max's jaw tense, ready to stop the fight if necessary. But then a lightning bolt forked across the sky. The winds seemed to suddenly pick up and we were all tossed around like dolls. My wings folded like paper and I could feel myself plummet to the ground.

"Nudge!" shouted a voice and the next thing I knew I was in Iggy's arms. But the wind was too much and we were both blown westwards. I looked up in panic and saw Alison clutched in Fang's arms, and Juliet was in Angel's. Ricochet was in Max's arms and the Gasman struggled to stay aloft as we were all thrown around in the wind.

But then the wind gave another strong gust, and Iggy and I were blown away until I couldn't even see the Flock anymore. Then we were falling. I could see the ground rushing closer and closer. We hit the ground hard enough to break every bone in our bodies. Everything hurt now, and I couldn't see anything but darkness. I could feel my heart beating wildly as I tried to peer through the darkness.

"Iggy?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Here it is, guys, the final chapter written by ArmyStrong. The very next chapter, chapter 8, will be written by yours featherly. LOL :D Enjoy!**

I couldn't hear anything as I crawled through the darkness, desperately looking for Iggy. I finally found him, lying five feet away from where I had fallen. His right leg and arm were bent in odd positions, and he was bleeding from his temple, in addition to being unconscious. I carefully straightened his arm and leg before healing his limbs, and then I healed the gash on his temple.

He didn't wake up. I was starting to panic and I put my fingers to his wrist, trying to feel a pulse. It was there, but it was weak and I realized he must have taken most of the blow from the fall, seeing as I had been in his arms.

I could only heal what was outside the body, not inside. I held him close to me, not saying anything, just willing him to be okay. I stayed like that for three days, when he finally stirred.

"Nudge?" he said slowly as he opened his eyes. I smiled shakily at him.

"Hey Iggy," I said quietly. He slowly touched his head.

"Ow," he whispered. "What happened?" I told him about what had happened in the storm and how he had been out for three days.

"Three days?" he said amusedly. "No wonder I'm so hungry." I choked out a laugh before I hugged him hard. I felt him wrap his arms tightly around me as if _I_ was the one who'd been out for three days, and a bunch of memories flashed back to me, from when we were dating and in love. Shaking these thoughts away, I said, "Let's get to the nearest town. We need food."

Iggy nodded and tried to stand but he winced and fell down again. I helped him stand and put an arm around his waist while he put one around my shoulders and we started to make our way through the forest, going northwest.

We had been walking for at least two hours when Iggy stumbled over a rock and I lost my balance, falling against a tree with Iggy on top of me. I'm pretty sure I closely resembled a tomato, as Iggy stuttered a "sorry".

"Hello birdies," called a voice. "Miss me?" Iggy and I turned to see who had spoken and saw Omega casually leaning against a tree, at least a dozen Archers behind him.

He looked at our shocked and horror-stricken faces, and chuckled before strolling towards us, the Archers in tow.

"Hello Nudge, and," Omega looked at Iggy and his lip curled. "Subject 7."

Iggy scowled and said, "You say it like you're not a subject."

"I know I'm a subject," said Omega simply. "But I'm a better and improved subject. And even better, I'm a subject with power."

A slightly maniacal look had over taken Omega's face before he signaled at the Archers and four of them came over, grabbing Iggy.

"Ig," I cried and I tried to get to him but the Archers had already begun to tie him up. He was struggling against them, though his injuries made him no match for four.

I felt an arm around my waist and looked up to see Omega, his face so close to mine I immediately tried to back up but he held me strongly.

"Well isn't this going to be sweet," he whispered huskily in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "All of us, going back to Itex Headquarters, like in Germany."

Omega flapped so he was airborne before grabbing me again by the waist and going higher until he began heading southeast. Two Archers were making sure Iggy didn't escape. Iggy's eyes met mine, and his expression conveyed regret, pain, and…was that love? He tore his gaze away from me and glared at Omega with so much loathing it wouldn't surprise me if Omega dropped dead.

But after being carried in the air for three hours, and seeing a large gray building in the middle of the forest looming closer, the feeling of dread mounted and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I gulped as we landed and I could see whitecoats inside.

I was back at Itex, the one place I swore I would never return to.


	8. Chapter 8

**ATTENTION! This is the first official chapter written by moi. Thanks to my readers for all the great reviews I've gotten so far, and without any further ado, here you go!**

"Here we are," Omega snarled, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. His arm was still around my waist, and I wondered what he planned to do with me, since Iggy was the one Itex wanted.

We were inside the gray building, in a room filled with—you guessed it—dog crates. The Archers had taken Iggy through the front doors of Itex, but I guess I wasn't important enough for that. Omega had brought me through a side door entrance, and he was holding me so close that his filthy, putrid breath was tickling my ear. I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking of Alison and Juliet and Ricochet and the rest of the Flock. Where were they? Had they been captured too? I prayed with every ounce of strength that I had left. I prayed that the others were safe somewhere, away from Itex.

"I'll be seeing you soon," Omega said quietly, then he shoved me as hard as he could into one of the crates, and I blacked out.

When I regained consciousness, the room was dark, but my raptor vision made it easy to see. All of the dog crates were empty, except for the one directly to my left. Iggy watched me from behind the bars, intense concern written in his features.

"Iggy?"

His expression turned to relief like I've never seen before. "Nudge. You're alright."

I nodded, tears running down my cheeks as I watched him, wishing that I could put my arms around him and just hold him. But my arms wouldn't fit through the bars of the crate, and neither would his. "Yes, Iggy, I'm alright." My voice was thick with emotion, and Iggy's eyes never left my face. They traveled from my eyes to my mouth and back again, as if he was trying to memorize what I looked like. "What did they do to you?"

"Nothing—yet," he whispered bitterly, spitting on the floor outside his crate. "The leader of the new-and-improved Itex wanted to size me up first, make sure I was physically ready for whatever they're going to do."

"What did they mean about you being 'Subject 7'? And why would they only be out looking for you? I mean, you're not that much more interesting than the rest of the Flock." I covered my mouth with my hand, realizing what I'd said too late, but Iggy chuckled.

"I don't know why they only want me. Maybe it has something to do with…my ability to feel colors, or the fact that my blindness made my other senses much more defined.

"I think having the ability to attract metal is a useful skill!" I said indignantly, and Iggy smiled, making me blush.

"My mind is going back to when you were that cute little eleven-year-old who couldn't stop talking," he said, barely able to suppress his laughter.

I grinned, and I thought about how wrong it was, the two of us laughing when we were facing almost certain death—or worse. But we were together, at least for the time being.

"Iggy?"

"Yeah?"

"When did you…get your sight back?"

He frowned, staring at the floor. "Two weeks after you left."

I sat up straighter. "What?"

"I got my sight back two weeks after you left."

"But—how?"

"I don't really know, Nudge. I remember knowing that the only way I'd be able to find you again was if I could see. I wished with every fiber in my being that I could have my sight back, even if it was just for a little while. I had to find you again."

I was speechless.

"Exactly two weeks after you left, my sight came back. I didn't know how, I didn't know why, and I didn't question it at the time. I had what I needed to find you again."

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, and I stared at the floor of the cage. "And you still don't know how it happened?"

He shook his head, laughing softly. "I don't really need to know how it happened."

We sat in silence for a while, and Fang's voice was ringing in my head from our conversation earlier. _You need to tell Iggy that Alison and Juliet are his._ _You need to tell Iggy that Alison and Juliet are his._ And right then, when we were trapped in dog crates, and we didn't know where Max and the others were…it probably wasn't the best time to tell him that he fathered my daughters.

"What happened to you, before you blacked out?" Iggy asked, breaking the silence.

"Omega brought me in here and threw me into this crate."

Iggy raised an eyebrow, and I knew that he knew that I wasn't telling him the entire truth.

"He told me he'd be seeing me later." My anger was fading away—it had been replaced by fear. "Iggy, I never thought I'd say this, but…I'm scared. Max is the only one who has a chance against Omega, and she's not here. I'm afraid Omega will…I'm afraid he'll—"

"Nudge." Iggy's voice was firm and slightly harsh. "Omega will not touch you. I promise you that."

More tears leaked from my eyes, and for once, I wished that Iggy couldn't see me. I was embarrassed about my fear. Why couldn't I be strong for once, like Max?

The doors opened, and I quickly dried my face on my sleeve and turned away from Omega's sneer. I'd thought he wasn't programmed to feel emotions. Maybe they'd experimented on him, too.

He slowly approached my crate, unlocked it, and reached a hand inside. He found a fistful of my hair and yanked, causing me to cry out in pain.

"Oh, did I hurt you, Nudge?"

Iggy glared at Omega, his knuckles white on the bars of the crate. But Omega wasn't getting the reaction out of Iggy that he was hoping for.

Changing tactics abruptly, Omega ran a long finger down the side of my face, coming to rest at the bottom of my chin. "Does that feel better?"

"Don't touch me," I said tightly, pushing his hand away and kicking his leg. In response, he used the kicked leg to swipe my feet out from under me, and I landed hard on a table. Omega's hand held my leg against his waist while he ran his fingers up and down my shin, sending cold chills down my back.

"Stop!" I shrieked as his fingers moved to my thigh, and Iggy growled. In an instant my fist collided with Omega's face, only for me to bring away bleeding knuckles.

"Such a fiery spirit," he whispered, his face inches from mine. "A shame, really. Too bad you're going to be retired soon." He finally let me go, gave me another maniacal grin, and shoved me back into the crate.

A whitecoat suddenly appeared in the doorway, but he wasn't wearing the idiotic evil smile that Omega had. He put a hand on Omega's shoulder and addressed Iggy and I.

"Subject 5 and Subject 7," he acknowledged curtly, nodding to each of us. "The Director feels that we cannot…observe you best, in your current living conditions. Not that it matters, you'll be retired soon anyways." He said the last part under his breath, but I heard it, and the look on Iggy's face told me he'd heard it, too.

"So, we're moving you to a more suitable environment."

He opened my crate first, then Iggy's, and I was thinking, _How thick can you be?_ Iggy rushed the whitecoat, knocking him sideways with a quick roundhouse kick, but a swarm of Archers surrounded us, and we were led down a long hallway.

**Review, please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I am appalled at myself. I completely forgot that Iggy is no longer blind—and I had to fix several scenes in previous chapters because of this mix-up. Aaarrgghh. Well, everything is fixed now—for those of you who were confused by my stupidity, I apologize. And here's chapter 9!**

Max had seen more of the whitecoats' grotesque mistakes than I had, but I can't say I was surprised to see things like elephant and monkey genes being mixed, and porcupines giving lectures in classrooms. I gritted my teeth and quickly took in my surroundings, memorizing the path we took. Two rights, straight down the hall, another right, then a left, then a wall of whitecoats standing guard in front of a metal door.

"Here you go, little birdies," Omega sneered, opening the door with a set of keys, which he pocketed afterward. Iggy and I were shoved into the dark room, and the door was slammed, tightly closed behind us.

I choked on the dust in the room but slowly struggled to my feet, looking around. Before I could do more than brush my shirt off, Iggy's arms were around me, his face buried in my hair while my head rested on his shoulder. I couldn't prevent the tears leaking from my eyes as his arms tightened their grip on me, and we stayed that way for what felt like hours.

When we stepped apart, Iggy took my hand as we sat down on the cold stone floor.

"Are you okay?" he whispered softly, and I nodded, staring at his concerned face, wondering how he had changed from a pyromaniac of a teenager to…well, to a man. My heart wrenched when I thought about the six years I'd been away from him, the six years I'd never known what had happened to him. The six years he'd never known about Alison and Juliet.

"Iggy?"

"Yeah?"

Part of me was discouraged by the tired look on his face, but I knew I had to tell him, before I lost confidence.

"I hope Alison and Juliet are okay," I began, feeling like a dope.

Iggy squeezed my hand. "I'm sure they're fine. Max and Fang won't let anything happen to them. You should know that by now." His voice suddenly took on a cold edge. "Are they Eric's?"

"What?"

"Alison and Juliet. Is Eric their father?"

I shook my head, adrenaline practically blasting through my veins.

Iggy's eyes narrowed, and he stood up to circle the room, running his sensitive fingers along the walls, searching for a way out. "Then who's their father, Nudge?"

His question sliced through me like a knife—or maybe that was the electrical shock I got when I leaned my head against the wall.

The metal door burst open, and about twelve whitecoats flooded in, surrounding me and Iggy. Ten of them grabbed Iggy and tied his arms behind his back, and the other two peered curiously at me. I glared back at them.

"The Director has no interest in you," a male whitecoat said slyly, and I rolled my eyes.

"That's a first," I commented loudly.

"But that doesn't mean _we_ don't have an interest," a second whitecoat added quickly. She turned to her colleague. "Imagine what research we could further by studying an example of the only successful recombinant DNA life forms!" The hungry look in her eyes was something I was used to, but it was unnerving at the same time.

"Or we could just follow the Director's orders and retire her early," a third whitecoat pointed out, and Iggy's eyes met mine for a brief moment as he was carried out the door. "Of course, the Director _did_ say you could have a brain sample after she's been retired, if you like."

I watched the whitecoats' eyes widen with eagerness.

"Director's orders!" someone shouted, and my heart pounded as the general murmur of "retire" spread among the scientists. Was this really it? Was I going to die, leaving Alison and Juliet alone? Never having the chance to tell Iggy that he was their father?

I followed the whitecoats, knowing that I might be stronger than they were, but they had guns.

_Over here, Max._

I stopped walking, my eyes wide. _Angel?_

_Yes! Guys, come on, she's over here! Fang, you can let go of Max's hand now, she'll still be there in five minutes._

My face split into a grin that I couldn't hold back. The Flock was here, and they were all okay. But I was brought back to reality by a shout of pain as the whitecoats fanned out to reveal Iggy, lying motionless on the floor.

The next set of events happened so quickly, my head was spinning. Max, Fang, and Angel crashed to the floor from a vent above. Iggy jumped to his feet at the diversion and roundhouse-kicked several of the scientists into the walls. Fang finally let go of Max's hand and delivered a series of punches to the whitecoats holding me, and Max raced past me to help Iggy take care of the remaining scientists. Omega was—

I hadn't even noticed Omega until he was standing next to me, holding a gun to my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the bad-guy monologue, or lack thereof.

"Isn't this precious," Omega commented, cocking the gun to be sure we were aware of his intentions. Iggy was frozen in place, a fierce hatred in his eyes.

"Let her go," he growled, taking a tiny step forward.

"I believe _I'm_ the one holding the weapon," Omega sneered, his lip curling.

Iggy's eyes traveled to someone standing behind me, and in the next second I felt the sharp heel of a boot against my back, and I was thrown forward.

In less time than it takes to tell, Iggy caught me as I fell forward, and Max kicked the gun out of Omega's hand. It spun across the room and hit the wall, firing a stream of bullets that ricocheted off the walls.

Iggy threw me to the ground and shielded me with his body, but I could still see what was going on. A bullet hit Max's foot, and she let out a hissing noise as Fang pushed her out of the way—and was hit by a bullet squarely in the chest.

**Cliffy—review!**


	10. Chapter 10

The gun stopped firing, and Omega smirked triumphantly under Angel's foot. Fang staggered for a moment, and Max caught him as he fell.

_This isn't real_, I told myself. _It's a test. It's one of those sick whitecoats trying to convince me that one of my best friends has just been killed._

Even as I watched, Max's hands came away bloody, and I saw tears in her eyes. She gazed at Fang, as if the world had stopped around her. "Get up," she said quietly, as if he would respond to the sound of her voice. "Fang, get up! Now!"

"Fang?" Angel moved toward him, but Max's arm shot out to stop her.

"No! Don't let Omega go."

Iggy stood up and gave me his hand to help me up, and I burst into tears, right there. Iggy pulled me into his arms, and I just sobbed, wondering when the nightmare would end.

"Max?" Iggy asked finally. "Is he—?"

Max put her fingers to Fang's wrist, and we all went silent. Her eyes widened. "There's a pulse!" She almost smiled, and I let go of Iggy.

"Nudge!" Angel cried, pointing to Fang. "You can get the bullet out and heal him, right?"

I slowly approached Fang's still figure, kneeling to where he lay across Max's legs. Together, Max and I gently removed his jacket and shirt and examined the wound. I could plainly see the bullet, but I didn't know if I could get it out without hurting him even more.

Max, who seemed to know what I was thinking, quietly murmured, "Do it."

I gently waved my hand over Fang's chest, and the bullet slowly began to move out. But before I could dislodge it completely, Jeb burst through a door toward the end of the hallway.

"Jeb?"

"Nudge?"

"JEB?"

"Max?"

Omega grunted under Angel's foot.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Max glared at Jeb, but she stayed where she was.

Jeb didn't answer, but his eyes widened as they took in Fang's unconscious figure.

"Oh, God," Angel murmured, slackening her hold on Omega—just enough to allow him to spring to his feet and grab me around the waist again.

"Angel!" Max shouted, her fingers raking themselves through Fang's hair.

But this time, I was ready. It took me only a split second to wonder what would happen if I kicked him "where it counts", if you catch my drift. I took the chance and kicked him as hard as I could, and I felt him let go of me and stumble backward into the wall. For the finale, Iggy gave Omega an iron punch to his gut.

My attention was diverted when I heard Max shout, "No!" and I saw Jeb trying to move Fang. "We can't!"

"Max, it's the only way."

His face was grim, and it took me only a second to realize what they were arguing about: the dreaded hospital.

I ran to Max's side and grabbed her arm urgently, as if I was that persistent eleven-year-old again. "Fang needs better medical care than what we can give him," I said softly, and Iggy and I quickly helped Jeb move him to another room.

Max held his hand as we carried him, but I was only partially paying attention to Fang. Why was Jeb here? And why was everyone so quick to assume that the threat of danger was gone?

We hoisted Fang's limp form onto a movable mat, and Max just continued staring at his pale face, her eyes taking in everything from his bloody chest to his shaggy black hair. "You can fight this," she whispered. "Come on, Fang, wake up!"

Tears sprung back into her eyes, and Angel just kept muttering, "Oh, God."

****

An hour later, Fang was being wheeled into the emergency department of a local hospital, Max's last nerve was hanging by a thread, and my head was spinning so fast that I felt sick.

Iggy, who'd been beside me the entire time, pointed to Max's foot. "You should get that checked out, Max."

"It's not very deep, the bullet kind of…bounced out," she replied nonchalantly, and I knew that she was thinking that her injuries were nothing compared to Fang's.

We all sat down in the waiting room, staring at Jeb, who was rubbing his hands together and staring at the floor, deep in thought.

"You never answered my question," Max informed him. "What the _hell_ were you doing at Itex?"

Jeb shook his head. "You wouldn't understand, Max."

"Well, I don't think I could _not_ understand any more than I'm _not_ understanding right now. Have you finally decided where your loyalties lie?"

"Max, it's not like that," Angel cut in, but Max ignored her.

In the long, awkward silence that followed, Iggy's arm snaked around my waist, and I jumped, expecting to see Omega's face leering at me.

"Sorry," Iggy muttered, blushing slightly.

"I don't mind," I said after a moment, almost smiling. "It just…surprised me, is all."

He nodded, and wrapped both arms around my waist, linking his fingers together at my side. My breath caught in my throat and I almost choked, but I was once again distracted enough _not_ to choke, this time by a nurse who had news about Fang.

Max jumped to her feet. "How's Nick?"

The nurse looked sadly at each of us in turn.

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut when the nurse said, "I'm sorry. He didn't make it through the surgery."

**AAAAAHHHHH!** **Okay, for those of you who have just echoed that scream of panic and indignation, remember that everything is never as it seems. So, review! And for those of you who are thinking about abandoning this fic because Fang died…you might not want to leave **_**just**_** yet. Chapter 11 will be up within the next two days, I promise you! XD ~Lyla**


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright, is Fang really dead? How about you read and find out? XD Don't forget to review!**

It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Fang wasn't dead. It wasn't possible. Fang was always the one who pulled through, always the one who survived. He couldn't be gone.

Like salt in a wound, Fang's voice rang in my head again. _You need to tell Iggy that Alison and Juliet are his._ I could feel a cold sweat starting at my neck. The last thing Fang had asked of me before he'd been shot was that I tell Iggy the truth. I'd never told him. I'd never told him. I'd never told him.

"Nudge!"

I sat up with a start, soaked with sweat, and whimpered, "I never told him!"

"Nudge, calm down!"

I looked around. The room was dark, and the only thing I could hear was the soft, gentle breathing of the rest of the Flock.

Iggy was lying next to me on his own mat, his face searching mine. "What's the matter?"

"Where's Fang?" I asked, my eyes wide.

Iggy blinked. "Nudge, you need to calm down. You—"

"_Where's Fang?"_

"Nudge, he was shot."

"I know that," I said quickly, looking around at the sleeping Flock. "But is he—is he—"

"Nudge, are you okay?"

I felt faint, wondering if Fang really was dead. I slowly got up and walked among the mats in the hospital room. I saw Angel and Max both lying at the foot of…Fang's bed.

As fast as I could, I crept around the side of the bed, listening intently, watching for the rising and falling of his chest to reassure me. And sure enough, I could hear his deep, even breathing.

My brother was alive. It had all been just a horrible dream, a nightmare. I quietly made my way back to Iggy, lying down on the mat but feeling far from tired.

"Iggy, what happened after Fang went into surgery?"

"You passed out," Iggy whispered, stroking my hair. "But the doctors took a look at you and said you were just weak from exhaustion. Fang's going to be fine, he made it through surgery." His eyes met mine again. "Are you sure you're okay? Were you having a nightmare?"

I tried and failed at an attempt to give him an apathetic smile. His eyes narrowed. "Nudge, what aren't you telling me?"

It wasn't the right time to tell him.

_Well, for God's sake, make it soon!_ Angel thought loudly, turning over and smirking at me.

Refraining from sticking my tongue out at her, which I used to do when we were younger and she got sassy; I turned back to Iggy. "It's nothing, I'm just tired. I should get back to sleep." Iggy raised an eyebrow skeptically, but I rolled over to face the opposite wall. I'd thought not telling Iggy the truth just yet would help me calm down—but it only increased my nerves.

****

The doctors told Fang he would be good to go in a bit less than a week, so we left the next day. Max still wanted to go see her mom, but since Jeb still wouldn't tell us what he was doing at Itex, none of us wanted anything to do with him.

Gazzy had been staying at a house of a friend of Dr. M's with Juliet, Alison, and Ricochet during this time. He'd been voted "least talented" by Angel and Max, and Fang just went along with it, so Gazzy watched the kids. The house was on the way to Dr. M's place.

When we landed in a clearing next to the house, Juliet and Alison came running out of the house, chocolate and marshmallow smeared all over their faces. I bent down to scoop them up as they threw themselves into my arms, and I saw Iggy smile out of the corner of my eye.

By far, the most amusing part of our trip was 24-year-old Ella's reaction to my reappearance.

"Nudge!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around me when we'd arrived at Dr. Martinez's house. "What happened to you? You—" She stopped suddenly, her eyes landing on Alison and Juliet. She squealed. "_This _was why you ran away?"

The whole room went silent, and Ella looked from the twins to Iggy and back again, giving me a knowing smile.

"I've just made a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies," Dr. Martinez announced, and everyone headed for the kitchen as I breathed a sigh of relief. "How's my favorite grandson?"

"I'm your _only_ grandson, Grandma," Ricochet informed her.

Dr. Martinez frowned. "Did your daddy tell you to say that to me?"

"Yep," Ricky answered proudly.

"Nudge!" Ella called from the kitchen. She waved a cookie in the air and began to make her way toward me. "Why don't you and Iggy go for a walk together? I'll watch the girls."

"I wanna go on a walk!" Juliet called, stuffing the rest of her cookie into her mouth.

Alison echoed her statement, but Dr. Martinez shook her head. "I'm Dr. Martinez," she said warmly, extending her hand for Alison to shake. "But you can call me Grandma." She winked at me and pointed to the door. I smiled and turned around to see Iggy standing directly behind me, watching me intently.

"What?"

"Those girls are really something," he commented, running a hand through his hair. He pointed to the door. "Shall we?"

I nodded, and we both reached for the doorknob at the same time. When our hands touched, Iggy linked his fingers through mine and used his other hand to open the door.

The air outside was breezy but warm; it felt…almost romantic. Iggy held my hand as we walked, just enjoying the peace and quiet. But I knew that the time had come to tell Iggy the truth.

"Iggy? I need to tell you something."

He nodded, his eyes gazing into mine, then glancing ahead of him again.

"The thing is…Ella was right. I did leave the Flock because…because I was pregnant."

Iggy straightened up and didn't say a word.

I opened my mouth to continue, but there was the heart-wrenching sound of a scream coming from just down the block.

"Is that one of the girls?" Iggy asked, his eyes searching the yard around the house.

"I don't know," I responded, and I let go of his hand, snapped out my wings, and took off toward the house.


	12. Chapter 12

**Here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for…Nudge finally tells Iggy that Juliet and Alison are his daughters. How will he react? Let's find out…**

Iggy was right behind me as I burst in through the front door. I heard a giggle, and then Juliet ran in from the kitchen. "Max set our dinner on fire," she explained, giggling again. Alison followed her into the room, arms crossed over her chest in a pout.

"It wasn't funny! I was scared!"

Dr. Martinez came into the living room, followed by the rest of the Flock, including a disheveled-looking Max.

"Everything's fine," she assured us. "It's a good thing I know a quick macaroni and cheese recipe."

Ricochet and Juliet cheered, but Alison was still sulking.

"Nudge? Come here, I wanna show you something," Ella told me, beckoning me down the hall to her room. I smiled and followed her. She practically slammed the door behind me and sat down on the bed. "Let's have it, Nudge. What's the deal with you and Iggy?"

I rolled my eyes. I probably should've seen this coming.

"He's Juliet and Alison's father," I said simply, but she waved her hand.

"I've already figured that part out. What I mean is, _what's the deal with you and Iggy?_"

I flopped down on the bed next to her. "To be honest, I don't know. I hadn't seen him in six years, and now he's with me all the time, and—"

"Do you still love him?"

The question caught me off guard, because I hadn't really thought about it. But I knew, deep down, that I did love him.

"Yes."

Ella pretended to dust her hands off. "Did you two talk when you went outside?"

"Yeah."

She nodded. "Good. He knows about Alison and Juliet, right?"

I squirmed a bit, looking anywhere but at Ella.

"Nudge. Oh, my God. You haven't told him yet?"

I shook my head, feeling my cheeks burning.

"You need to tell him," Ella informed me, and she helped me up off the bed. "Tomorrow morning, you're going for another walk, or flight, or whatever. And you're going to tell Iggy the truth."

I nodded, then grinned and hugged her. She was a great big sister.

At dinner, everyone was quiet as we listened to Alison and Juliet tell Dr. M all about the apartment we used to live in. I barely touched my food; I felt like every eye in the room was on me, telling me to say something, so I was thankful when we all went to bed early.

The sleeping arrangements were different than we were used to, since it was only Dr. M and Ella living in this house. But I'd never felt more at home than I did at that moment.

Max took the guest room while Fang slept on the floor next to her twin bed (Please note: Max and Fang had a ridiculously drawn-out argument over who would sleep on the floor. Fang won). There were two couches in the living room, where Gazzy and Angel slept; and Ella was spending the night at a friend's house, so she insisted that I take her room. Iggy slept on the floor next to my bed.

I was too tired to think about anything, so I rolled over to face the wall, contemplating whether or not I should tell him. And that's when I fell asleep.

Ella pulled into the driveway during breakfast the next morning, and I was reminded of my promise to her. As she hung up her keys in the hallway, she gave me a look and said, "Gazzy, Angel, would you help me with the dishes?"

We all stood up, and when I tried to grab a cloth to wipe down the table, Ella shook her head and pointed to the door, earning her a puzzled look from Iggy. But he followed me to the door anyway.

"I never got to finish what I was saying yesterday," I explained quickly, unfolding my wings as Iggy shut the door behind us. He did the same, and we took off into the morning sunlight.

"Mommy! Wait!" called Juliet, running out the front door. Alison followed, and the two girls became airborne, joining Iggy and I just below the clouds.

I spun around and did a horizontal 360. Alison tried to copy the maneuver, but she ended up flipping head over heels, and Iggy caught her, laughing, before she smashed into Juliet.

I smiled. _If only he knew…_

An all-too-familiar sound filled the atmosphere, and I grabbed Juliet while Iggy held onto Alison. A chopper was nearby.

I dove for the ground, stumbling as I landed and scanning the sky for any sign of danger.

"How nice of you to make things easy for us, Nudge," a voice sneered, and I held Juliet closer to me as I once again looked up into Omega's face.

"Get out of here," I whispered menacingly, hearing Iggy land right behind me.

"By all means," he answered, feigning politeness. "After I get what I want."

"And what is it that you want?" Fang asked, standing on the porch, surrounded by the rest of the Flock.

"How many freaking times do I have to kill you?" Max snarled, and all of us threw ourselves into battle mode as a swarm of Archers emerged from the woods, weapons poised.

Keeping Juliet behind me, I kicked Omega's side, but that wasn't his weak point. He twisted my leg and threw me to the ground, reaching for Juliet, but Iggy neatly clipped him in the chest, causing him to stumble backward.

"Max! What's his weak point?" I called as Omega punched Iggy in the stomach, and I heard him gasp for air.

"Payback," Omega said quietly as Iggy doubled over.

"Quick movements confuse him!" Max called out, roundhouse-kicking an Archer into a nearby tree. "Wave your hand in front of his face!"

I followed Max's instructions, and within a few seconds, I had the upper hand. I sent Omega sprawling on the ground, blood dripping from his nose and mouth.

I turned around to help Iggy, who was attacking a group of Archers who were trying to grab Alison. My heart started pounding.

"Iggy! Where's Juliet?"

With a final shove, he pushed away the rest of the Archers. His eyes wide and alert, he searched both the sky and the ground for a sign of Juliet.

"There!" he shouted, but I was already in the air, speeding towards the chopper that waited in midair to take Juliet and any remaining Archers.

"Mama!" Juliet cried out, her face panic-stricken as two flying Archers started to shove her into the back of the chopper.

"No," I hissed, clapping both hands over a creature's ears. Although I managed to stop one, another sent me spinning toward the ground with a blow to the back of my neck.

My wings wouldn't open, and I panicked as the ground came closer, and I braced myself for the crash, but it never came. Iggy caught me just before I hit the ground and, helping me into a kneeling position, he grabbed Alison's hand and pulled her close to me.

"Stop!" Omega commanded, grinning maniacally. "We have what we came here for." Instead of leaping into the air to follow the chopper, they raced off into the woods, too fast for us to follow.

"Mommy, those bad guys took Juliet!" Alison said quietly, and no one said a word.

I wanted to run into the woods after the Archers. I wanted to find Juliet _now,_ and be assured that she was alright. But we needed a plan—sixteen years of living with Max had taught me that even if you didn't have a plan, you needed to calm down before you went charging off.

It took every ounce of self-control I had left to walk back into the house; everything felt surreal, like a dream.

I immediately headed to Ella's room, where I sat down on the bed, tears streaming down my cheeks. I began to mutter, "No—no—no—"

I felt guilt and regret and so many other emotions all at once. Iggy paced the floor, not looking at anything else.

"This is my fault," I whispered. "I should've never—it was a mistake—"

"What was a mistake, Nudge?" Iggy's voice had a hard edge to it. "Leaving the Flock? Leaving all of us just because you were pregnant? Leaving _me?_"

The bitterness in his voice was unmistakable. "I didn't have a choice," I murmured, managing to stop crying for a moment.

"You always have a choice!" he said, raising his voice. "We would've helped you! We were a family, Nudge! Didn't you trust us?"

"I need to find Juliet," I said in response, still feeling like I was in a dream.

"Nothing's stopping you. Go ahead, nobody's holding you back."

"Don't you care about what happens to her?"

"Why should I?"

I stared at him in disbelief. I knew Iggy was just bitter, still angry that I'd left him, and that bitterness was manifesting itself when someone I loved was in danger. So, what did I do? I fought fire with fire.

"You're such an idiot!" I shouted, every bit of sadness gone, being replaced by anger. "Why should you care about what happens to Juliet? Because she's your DAUGHTER! She and Alison are both YOUR DAUGHTERS, IGGY!" My fists clenched at my sides, I glared at him, but his face softened.

"What?"

"You heard me right," I snapped, barely suppressing the urge to smack him. "Juliet and Alison are your daughters. That's what I've been trying to tell you all along!"

I collapsed back onto the bed, fresh tears streaming down my cheeks, and I couldn't hold back my sobs any longer.


	13. Chapter 13

Tears running down my face, I looked up at Iggy. Understanding dawned on his face, and his eyes blazed with anger. He whirled around to face the closet, his fists clenched at his sides. "Why didn't you tell me before?" he whispered, and for the first time in my life, I was afraid of him.

"I tried to," I sobbed, attempting and failing to calm down. "But I was interrupted each time."

He shook his head, his back to me, and raised his fist like he was going to punch the wall. "I feel so stupid!" he said loudly, on the verge of shouting. "God, they look just like me, they—" He stopped pacing to look at me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered again, and I threw myself back onto the bed, burying my face in the pillow.

Iggy continued pacing, and then stopped. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out!" he shouted, and then, he turned to me again. "I don't understand, Nudge. Why did you run away?" His eyes darkened and his fists clenched. "Did you think I wouldn't want the girls? Did you think it would be better for everyone if you just raised them on your own? What were you thinking, Nudge?"

"No! I would never—"

"I spent the last six years looking for you, and I never found a trace of you anywhere. I had no way of knowing if something had happened to you, I had no way of knowing if you were even still alive. And when I finally find you again, it turns out you've got my daughters with you?"

"_Our_ daughters," I corrected, hearing anger and bitterness in my voice.

"_Our_ daughters," Iggy repeated, and he continued pacing. "How selfish can you be? They're five years old, and they have no idea who their father is. How could you _do that?_"

I couldn't take his yelling anymore. I stormed out of the room, slammed the door behind me, and ran into Max's room, throwing myself onto her bed and sobbing.

A few minutes later (it felt like hours to me), I heard the door open, and Fang's voice asked, "Nudge?"

I didn't say anything, just kept sobbing into the pillow. Fang sat down next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. When I finally did look up at him, his face was white.

"You told him."

"Yeah," I said softly. "I should've told him before. I should never have left you guys in the first place! Now he hates my guts."

"No, he doesn't," Fang informed me, stroking my hair. "That was major news, Nudge. You have to give him time to get used to the idea that he fathered Juliet and Alison. He's just…he's scared, Nudge."

"How do you know?"

Fang laughed. "When Max told me she was pregnant with Ricochet, I was scared. Not because I didn't want a baby, but because it was something really new. After a while, I got used to the idea, but it was a big shock at first. And think of it this way: Iggy's known the girls for almost a week now, and all of a sudden they're his daughters. Give him time, Nudge. He'll come around."

I nodded, and he leaned in to hug me. "Thanks, Fang. It means a lot."

He nodded in return, and quietly left the room.

I decided to stay in Max's room for the next little while, mulling things over. My mind formed a scenario in which Iggy and I had been reconciled, and together we told Alison and Juliet that he was their daddy. More tears came to my eyes as I thought about this, and I sat up, walked over to the closet, and pulled out a small backpack. Even if Iggy wouldn't come with me, I had to go find Juliet.

Just when I was finishing packing, the door creaked open. Iggy's face was impassive as he quietly closed the door behind him, and I shrank back against the wall, my whole body tense.

"Nudge," he whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I want to talk to you."

I didn't answer; I just watched him, my eyes wide, but I was relieved that he was no longer angry.

"I'm…I'm sorry for blowing up like that. But I still don't get why you ran away."

While we were all being honest and everything, I figured I might as well go for the goal.

"I was afraid that you'd…feel differently about me. Or that you wouldn't want to be tied down with a baby when you were nineteen."

His face darkened, and I thought he was getting angry again, but the next thing I knew I was in his arms, and he was holding me, and we were rocking back and forth on the bed. He leaned back and kissed my forehead, then held me close again. "Nudge, I want you to know that I love you. Nothing's ever going to change that. I loved you when you were sixteen, and I never stopped loving you, even when you were gone. I can't tell you what a relief it is to be able to hold you again."

I closed my eyes and leaned against him. We stayed that way for what seemed like hours, until Iggy finally leaned back and gazed at me. "Our daughter needs our help. Are you ready to go?"

I smiled. "I'm ready."

He took my hand, I grabbed the backpack, and we left the room, together.

**Review, please! XD What's going to happen to Juliet? And how will the twins react when they find out that Iggy's their father? **


	14. Chapter 14

Iggy never let go of my hand, even as we soared through the open sky toward Itex. My heart was beating in my throat as I tried not to think about what horrors Juliet could be subjected to.

We were headed back to the same headquarters Iggy and I had been held at, and I figured we had about three hours left until we got there. Iggy squeezed my hand. "Don't worry. She's gonna be fine," he said quietly.

The rest of the time seemed to drag by, hours upon hours of endless agony. The rest of the Flock had stayed with Dr. Martinez and Ella. This was something I had to do with Iggy—alone.

When we finally landed just outside the boundaries of the Itex building, everything was silent. _Too _silent. We quietly crept forward, wondering what security measures were in place and wishing we had Angel with us.

_They forgot to lock the back door._

Of course. Angel's long-distance telepathy. Why didn't I think of that?

_Are you sure it's safe?_

_I'm pretty sure,_ came her tentative reply, and I bit my lip. We didn't have a choice. It was now or never.

"The back door's unlocked," I told Iggy, leading the way through the trees, bending over slightly. He didn't question me, but followed close behind me.

Angel was right—the back door was unlocked, but my eyes were peeled for security cameras or guards or more repulsive experiments sent to make sure we didn't make it past the building's entrance.

Everything was silent except for the hum of machines in the rooms we passed, and there was no human activity that I could see. Which, of course, made me even more suspicious. Had we just walked into a trap?

There was a particular room down the corridor from which Iggy and I both heard voices.

"It isn't right! The child hasn't done anything wrong. We should send her back to her parents."

My breath caught in my throat, and Iggy and I both leaned forward to listen.

"You know just as well as I do that we can't do that. It's simply not an option. And it doesn't matter if the child hasn't done anything wrong. We created her parents, which means that they belong to us. And since she belongs to her parents, it goes without saying that she belongs to us, too. See how it works?"

The first man sighed. "But the point is, they're not property. They have intelligent minds, they have feelings."

"Don't be such a softy, Mack. Once those surgeons finish dissecting the little girl, it'll be too late anyway."

My legs could no longer support me. I stumbled backward, and Iggy caught me, lifting me into a standing position and pulling me close.

"It can't be too late," I whispered against him.

"It's not too late," he replied, taking a step backward to see if I could support myself. "We're going to find her."

And with that, both of us ran down the hallway, glancing through each window as we passed room after room. There was no sign of Juliet, until—

"If he would just do the job right the first time, I wouldn't have to go back and redo the work!" Someone shouted behind us, and Iggy doubled back to check on the source of the voice. My heart stopped when I heard a second voice.

"Where's my mommy?"

"_Where's my mommy?_" The scientist mimicked, and I heard a loud clatter, and then a shriek from Juliet.

Iggy and I both raced into the small room, where a scientist was attempting to open Juliet's tiny cage.

"Get away from my daughter," Iggy growled, and with a single roundhouse kick he knocked the whitecoat out cold.

Juliet had the scared expression of a tortured bird-kid on her face—an expression that I had prayed would never appear on either of my daughter's faces. I pressed a finger to my lips, tears of relief and joy filling my eyes.

Iggy fumbled with the lock on Juliet's crate, and I watched as hope lit in her eyes when she saw someone else she recognized.

I smiled, glad that his lock-picking abilities had only gotten better as a result of his renewed sight. Within seconds, the lock dropped to the floor, Iggy wrenched the crate open, and Juliet threw herself into his arms. He held her tightly, one hand holding her head against his shoulder. "You're alright, you're alright. Oh God, you're alright."

Iggy's eyes were closed as he slowly rocked our daughter, but I saw a single tear run down his face in the dim light.

Juliet opened her eyes and saw me standing behind Iggy; her eyes widened and Iggy stepped back so she could hug me, too. I held her tightly, and I felt her little arms wrap themselves around me. It was the best feeling in the world.

I glanced at Iggy, and he was grinning at me. More than anything, I wanted to tell Juliet that Iggy was her father, but I also knew that we needed to tell Juliet and Alison together. And Juliet had been so frightened that she didn't understand what Iggy meant when he'd called her "my daughter". So she still didn't know the secret.

Iggy carried Juliet through the halls of Itex, taking long strides toward the back door where we'd come in. I was right behind him, scanning the adjacent corridors for signs of danger. We'd almost made it to the door—

"Going somewhere?"

Damn it.

"What have we here? We kidnap the little girl, and we get the entire set! Her parents, too!"

I gritted my teeth. "Oh, so you've stopped calling it 'experimentation' and _started _calling it what it is: abduction. What a big step for you guys."

The scientist's face turned purple, a color that really didn't suit him. He'd look better green, I think.

"Whatever you want to call it, you three won't be leaving any time soon."

"Who's going to stop us?" Iggy asked snidely, his grip on Juliet tightening.

"Certainly not me," the whitecoat replied, yawning. "Much too simple a task for me." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, there was a low rumbling noise, and a door at the end of the hallway burst open. The whitecoat grinned toothily at the three of us, then dove through an open window off the corridor as row after row of monstrous experiments raced towards us.

These new experiments were unlike anything I'd seen before. They looked like six-foot-tall globs of glue with human hands and feet. I can't even begin to describe how disturbing they were. Their hands felt cold and slimy as they grabbed hold of us; their strength far surpassed ours, so our attempts at freedom were in vain.

The Glue Globs opened the door to a dark, wet room.

"Let go of me!" Iggy yelled loudly, drawing his leg forward to kick one of the monsters, but he was thrown into the room headfirst. My stomach twisted and I fought harder as another of the Glue Globs picked up Juliet by one arm and hurled her into the dark abyss.

"Sweet dreams, beautiful," said another of the monsters, and I fought the urge to retch as I found myself hitting the cold stone floor and rolling over to the unconscious bodies of Iggy and Juliet. "Iggy? Juliet? Wake up!" I shouted desperately, but neither of them moved.

If there was a God, my daughter and the man I loved would be alright. They had to be alright. _If there is a God, Iggy and Juliet are going to be alright._

**Review! XD**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I apologize for the long lapse in time since my last update. I know it's been a while, but I'm going to be updating (hopefully) once a week from now on. There isn't too much left in this story, but there's one more subplot that I want to address before the story ends. :D And I just started reading Angel. I have to say I am VERY upset that JP is putting Iggy and Ella together. And for that reason, I have decided that I don't like Ella. At all. So, of course I had to write some Nudge/Iggy stuff to make myself feel better! Here's chapter 15…**

I crawled across the dark floor, feeling like a complete failure. I'd managed to get myself captured by Itex for the second time that week, and this time, my five-year-old daughter was with me. Iggy could handle this kind of treatment—he was strong, and he was used to it. But, thankfully, Juliet had spent the first five years of her life with me, away from Itex and away from sick whitecoats.

I waited in the darkness, staring at Juliet's still form. She was breathing, but she had been knocked out cold when her head hit the floor.

Iggy groaned, struggling into a sitting position. I was next to him in an instant, my arms around him. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them away.

Iggy took my hand and squeezed it in an attempt to reassure me, but we both knew what the more pressing issue was: Making sure Juliet wasn't seriously injured.

We crawled over to where she lay on the floor. Iggy's fingers moved up her arms and legs, checking for broken bones. He grimaced when he felt her ankle.

"Her foot must've been twisted when she landed. It's broken," he said quietly. His fingers moved up to her face as I smoothed wet hair off her forehead. Except for a small bump on her forehead, nothing else seemed to be seriously hurt.

"Twice in one week," Iggy commented, getting to his feet and heading towards the metal door. "I think that might be a record."

Yes, he was trying to lighten the mood, but at that moment I _really_ didn't feel like listening to a sarcastic joke. Or any joke, for that matter.

_Nudge?_

I breathed a sigh of relief. _Yes, Angel._

_Really, Nudge? REALLY? You get yourself captured TWICE in ONE WEEK?_

_Is the lecture going to end any time soon?_

_Wait a second…who else is there with you?_

I rolled my eyes. _Let's see, there's so many of us…Iggy, Juliet, and me. Who else would there be?_

Her voice came back confused and unsure. _No, there's someone else. Like, another kind of human-animal thing._

I was about to reply when the door burst open. And in the doorway stood…

"Eric?" I asked, so surprised that my voice cracked.

"Eric?" Iggy echoed, although his tone was far from friendly.

"Nudge," he whispered, leaning his arms on opposite sides of the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Iggy asked, glaring at Eric. I knew he hadn't forgiven Eric for calling me a slut. And he probably never would.

In reply, Eric growled. His fingernails elongated to reveal razor-sharp claws, and a tail with brown spots extended from the back of his pants.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, a slight smile on my face. I was sure this was some kind of new whitecoat trick messing with my mind. Yeah, right. There was _no way_ that this was really Eric, that he was really here at Itex, that he had just transformed into a leopard.

Eric pounced into the room, landing inches from where I stood. He'd transformed completely, and he now looked like a leopard wearing a tunic. Turning his head away from me, he leaned his head down toward Juliet and picked her up by the back of her shirt.

"Let go of her!" Iggy hissed, but I held up a hand. Eric's leopard eyes met mine, and for a second, everything seemed to stand still. I heard a voice—Eric's voice, in my mind.

"I'm sorry, Nudge. I'm sorry for not being who you needed me to be. But I want to make it up to you."

"How?" I asked aloud.

He cocked his head to one side. "I'm going to help you get out of here."

So many questions were running through my mind. I wanted to ask him how he knew we were there. How did he even know about Itex? How did he know about our wings? And why was he having such a sudden change of heart?

There would be time for questions later. Eric brought Juliet over to Iggy, who quickly took her in his arms. He looked at me as if to say, _I don't trust this guy for a second._

I heard Eric's voice in my head again. "Follow me. I know the way out." He nodded at Iggy and took a dive for the door, landing on all fours.

"Let's get out of here," I said, following Eric out the door. Iggy was right behind me, scanning the corridors as we went. I didn't trust Eric, but he hadn't tried to hurt us up to this point. And there was little we had to lose by following him.

Much to Iggy's amazement, Eric led us right out of the building. But he didn't stop running until we'd put quite a bit of distance between us and Itex.

We stopped when we'd reached the front of the woods. Iggy shifted Juliet in his arms and stared at Eric, as if wondering what he was still doing there.

I didn't know what to say, but fortunately I was spared the necessity as Eric transformed back into his human self.

"I really am sorry, Nudge. I'm sorry I called you a slut. I was just—angry."

"That's no excuse," Iggy cut in, an icy edge to his voice. "Thanks, you got us out of Itex. _Which_ we were about to do on our own anyway."

"Eric, how do you know about us?"

He smiled rather sheepishly. "I sensed that there was something different about you from the moment I met you. I really wanted to find out if I was right, and that's why I kept asking you out. You kept turning me down, but I wouldn't give up."

Iggy's body was tense, but I slipped my hand into his and squeezed to reassure him.

"One day, I came to your apartment complex, but I parked around the back so you wouldn't know it was me. I—wanted to see for myself if you really were different."

Iggy growled and he looked as though he wanted to throttle Eric. "And what exactly did you see?"

The corners of Eric's mouth twitched. Turning back to me, he said, "I saw you and the girls climbing up to the roof. Then you spread those beautiful wings and took off, just like birds. It was amazing to know that you were different, like me."

"Calling me a slut wasn't exactly the best way to tell me how _happy_ you were that I'm _different,_" I snapped, sounding a bit like Max. Iggy relaxed, and I could tell he was relieved that I wasn't buying Eric's story.

"Mama?"

Juliet lifted her head from Iggy's shoulder and looked around, her eyes bloodshot. "Where are we?"

"It's alright, sweetheart," I said, my voice weak with relief. My baby was going to be just fine.

"Let's get her home," Iggy said with a note of finality, and he looked at Eric with an expression that plainly said, _Get out of here._

"Do you…do you think I could come?"

I stared at Eric. "What?"

"I mean, I don't really have any other place to go."

"You're a leopard. I hear they enjoy being in the wild," Iggy said curtly, and I squeezed his hand even harder this time, making him wince.

I really didn't know what to say. He'd helped us escape from that prison, and he seemed genuinely sorry for what he'd said and done. _Should I trust him?_

**Review! And tell me what you think: Can Eric be trusted?**


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